Speaking to a press conference organized at the party´s central office in Kathmandu on Friday, Thakur said, “Constituency delineations in Madhes should be based on Clause 3 (a), Article 63 of the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007.” He further said that they need 50 percent representation as more than 50 percent of the total population was living in the Tarai. [break]
Thakur claimed that less representation than that would further sideline the marginalized communities.
“A three-day central working committee (CWC) meeting of our party, which concluded on Saturday, has decided to work on the unification process with other Madhesi parties to prepare a conducive environment for meaningful Constituent Assembly (CA) polls, set the poll agenda and work for the overall election process,” said Thakur.
In a separate context, he said that though Tarai-based armed outfits had threatened him and other Madhesi leaders, they were not worried. “In democracy, everyone has the right to speak out and they are just enjoying that fundamental right by issuing mock threats against us,” said Thakur, adding, “It would not create any obstacle for our party.” He further clarified that the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), the alliance of five Madhesi parties, was still a going concern.
Thakur said that the much discussed unification talks between his party and other Madhesi parties were moving positively. “We have been intensifying our talks to unify all Madhes-based parties into a single party,” he said, adding, “But these have not yet yielded any results.”
A party insider seeking anonymity told Republica that party members were not interested in unification talks. “The central committee members don´t want unification with other Madhesi parties as they are likely to lose their current positions in a unified party,” he said.
He further said that his party would go for unification only if Thakur is accepted as a common leader.
However, Thakur himself claimed that there were no disputes regarding leadership.
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